Tired of spending money on disposable, synthetic period products every month that aren't good for you or the planet? These reusable cotton pads are everything you've been looking for. Made from 100% cotton fabric, each easy-to-use pad comes with two inserts so you can adjust the absorbency based on what you need, every day of your cycle. You deserve to feel good about what's getting up close and personal with you, and lemme tell you — these pads are it.
A note from Krystina: I purchased my first sets of these reusable period pads 8 years ago and they are still going strong! While I've also invested in some reusable period undies in that time as well, I've recently come back to using these the most often and loving it. I love that I can use them with any undies I already have, and that I can customize how much absorbency I need that day, or overnight! Plus they take up less space in my drawer. I'm a big fan, and I bet you will be too.
Reusable Cotton Period Pads Quick Details:
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New release! Newly available for the holiday season. May or may not become part of our year-round collection after the holidays.
- Absorbs quickly so you won't feel like you're wearing a diaper
- No more hormone-disrupting chemicals against your skin
- Designed and guaranteed to last at least 5 years, but typically much longer than that!
- Comparable size to standard maxi pad
- Choose from conventional or organic cotton
- Machine washable
- PFAS- and chemical-free
Size
Each pad measures about 9" long and 2.75" wide when snapped in.
Materials
100% cotton fabric, metal snaps, and polyester thread for long-term durability
To Use
Insert one or two inserts into the pad (I've used the pad without any inserts on very light days!) and snap the pad around your underwear. Change them as you would a disposable pad.
We recommend washing your pads before using them for the first time, just like you would any underwear or similar product :)
Care
Rinse with cold water as soon as possible upon changing your pad until the water runs clear (or soak in cold water). Wash on cold with a natural laundry detergent, then tumble dry on low or air dry (I prefer to air dry flat!). Do not use bleach or fabric softener.
Store flat in a clean, dry place.
Note that light staining does not mean that your laundered pads are not clean or sanitary.
Packaging + End of Life
These reusable pads will either be completely unpackaged or wrapped in reused kraft paper, which can be curbside recycled.
With proper care, these reusable pads should last many, many years to come. (Some users have reported them lasting 20+ years!) When the time does come to retire yours, the snaps and thread should be removed; the cotton fabric can be cut up and backyard composted, the snaps can be recycled in metal recycling, and the thread should be thrown away.
Origin
Handmade in Portland, Oregon
Ethical Guarantees
Give-Back Program
LGBTQIA+ Owned
Made in the USA
Organic (Organic Cotton Pads only)
Palm Oil Free
Vegan
Woman-Owned
🌎 You care about the planet. So do we.
Look. I get it. It’s HARD to be an EcoWarrior. Someone who cares about the planet and wants the most sustainable products available — from the ingredients to the packaging to the way that product gets to your hands.
It seems like everywhere we turn, someone, somewhere, is greenwashing us.
But our superpower at A Drop in the Ocean is sorting through the BS, calling it out, and making sure our products are the absolute most sustainable and truly zero waste products we can find.
So on top of all the things we mentioned above about what makes our reusable cotton period pads so sustainable, here’s a few other things you should know:
- We’re actually practicing what we preach behind the scenes. Each year, we track and record all of our trash, and even wrote a whole blog post on it. The tl;dr version is this: on average, we produce less than 0.5 pounds of trash each month. Everything from the packaging our products come in down to the Sharpie we use to write “Fragile” on your box is zero waste to its core.
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We’re an online-only zero waste store — which is highly intentional. It may seem counter-intuitive, but online shopping is actually more sustainable than in-person. I’m a data nerd at heart and I love diving into the research, and there are countless studies that have shown that online shopping is the most sustainable way to get your everyday essentials. Don’t believe me? Check out our whole blog post on the sustainability of online shopping.
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We ship ugly boxes. Your order from A Drop in the Ocean is not going to arrive in a pretty, branded box. It’s gonna show up in a reused tea box, or a donated Amazon box, or maybe even an inside-out Girl Scout Cookies box. All of our shipping materials are always 100% plastic-free and reused as much as possible, with curbside-recyclable paper tape and a post-consumer recycled paper shipping label. It won’t be pretty, but it will be zero waste.
Got more questions about our zero waste products or our practices behind the scenes? Just send us an email! I’m always happy to chat all things eco.
